Wesleyan awards the Doctor of Philosophy degree in ethnomusicology and in several science departments. The first such degree was awarded in 1965. Doctoral dissertations are microfilmed commercially by University Microfilms and are indexed in Dissertation Abstracts.
The online catalog includes records for dissertations presented in 1979 and later. Earlier records will be found only in the card catalog, except for specific titles recataloged in machine-readable form. In order to maintain location and note consistency, catalog records and spine labels use the word 'thesis'. Scores & Recordings maintains its own database of music-related theses and dissertations. Authors, titles, and departments are listed annually in the Commencement program.
The University Archives receives a single copy of each. Dissertations are bound after microfilming and may not be available for some months after the degree was awarded. The Archives copy does not circulate and must be consulted in the Special Collections & Archives reading room. It should be requested in advance with a retrieval form. Copies are available on film or on paper from University Microfilms.
A second bound copy of each dissertation is cataloged either for the Science Library or for Scores & Recordings; in both locations they are shelved separately. A microfilm copy is cataloged for Olin Library's Microtexts Room. Second bound copies and microfilm copies circulate via Interlibrary Loan. Audio materials accompanying ethnomusicology theses may be listened to in Scores & Recordings.